HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  28Wine drunk at the proper time and in moderation

  is rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul.

  29Wine drunk to excess leads to bitterness of spirit,

  to quarrels and stumbling.

  30Drunkenness increases the anger of a fool to his own hurt,

  reducing his strength and adding wounds.

  31Do not reprove your neighbor at a banquet of wine,

  and do not despise him in his merrymaking;

  speak no word of reproach to him,

  and do not distress him by making demands of him.

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  a Other ancient authorities read sleep carries off a severe illness

  b Heb Syr: Gk pursues destruction will be filled

  c Other ancient authorities add because of this

  d Heb Syr: Gk at a great table

  e Gk him

  f Heb: Gk like a human being

  g Gk reach out your hand

  h Heb Syr: Gk industrious

  i Heb: Gk tests the hardening of steel by dipping

  31.1–11 A troubled set of sayings on acquiring, protecting, and using wealth. Two ethical considerations underlie Ben Sira’s attempt to deal with widespread critique of the rich: avarice is to be condemned (vv. 5–8); almsgiving is to be commended (vv. 9–11).

  31.2 Wakefulness commonly served both as a sign of anxiety and as a sign of legitimate concern. Kings were expected to stay awake out of concern for their people, and in the case of impending crises wakefulness (as watchfulness) was enjoined for all. Anxiety, on the other hand, was usually thought detrimental (cf. Lk 12.22). The phrase wakeful anxiety is a combination of the two terms based on their occurrence in v. 1.

  31.3–4 A common form of couplet, used to compare two sets of opposing categories (rich/poor; sufficiency/need) by relating each to a third and common factor (toil). In this case, the resulting observation is merely clever, not judgmental.

  31.8 Found blameless, Ben Sira’s notion of the pious rich; cf. 13.24. The Greek word for gold translates the Hebrew mammon; this is the earliest example of this Aramaic loanword that also occurs in Mt 6.24; Lk 16.9, 11, 13.

  31.9–11 The rhetorical questions may be intended as irony, illustrating the difficulty of amassing wealth and continuing free from sin.

  31.12–32.13 Comportment at a banquet, including moderation in eating (31.12–24) and drinking wine (31.25–31) and knowing one’s place (32.1–2), when to speak (32.3–9), and when to depart (32.10–13). The banquet in question corresponds to the Greek dinner with guests followed by a symposium; in common are the concern for reputation (31.23–24), the wine-drinking contest (31.25–26), merrymaking (31.31; 32.2), a master of the feast (32.1), concern for rank (32.1–2; 32.3, 7), entertainment and a display of cleverness (32.4), music (32.5–6), and a blessing at the conclusion of the feast (32.13). Here Ben Sira advises his prospective scribes on etiquette, so that they are equipped for success. Cf. Prov 23.1–8.

  31.13 Greedy eye, a somewhat unusual reference to the eye as medium for desire and lust; cf. 14.9; Job 31.1. Tears for any reason includes the calculated kind, for purposes of deception, and the natural kind, the result of emotion or desire.

  31.23–24 Their testimony…is trustworthy…accurate in the sense of having a lasting effect. The point is reputation. On being stingy, see 14.9–10.

  31.25 Prove your strength, in the drinking contest, a feature of the Greek symposium. See 32.5–6. On the thought that wine has destroyed many, cf. Prov 23.29–35.

  31.27 The phrase very life may derive from a toast. It was common in Eastern Mediterranean cultures to praise wine. Cf. Ps 104.15.

  SIRACH 32

  Etiquette at a Banquet

  1If they make you master of the feast, do not exalt yourself;

  be among them as one of their number.

  Take care of them first and then sit down;

  2when you have fulfilled all your duties, take your place,

  so that you may be merry along with them

  and receive a wreath for your excellent leadership.

  3Speak, you who are older, for it is your right,

  but with accurate knowledge, and do not interrupt the music.

  4Where there is entertainment,

  do not pour out talk; do not display your cleverness at the wrong time.

  5A ruby seal in a setting of gold

  is a concert of music at a banquet of wine.

  6A seal of emerald in a rich setting of gold

  is the melody of music with good wine.

  7Speak, you who are young, if you are obliged to,

  but no more than twice, and only if asked.

  8Be brief; say much in few words;

  be as one who knows and can still hold his tongue.

  9Among the great do not act as their equal;

  and when another is speaking, do not babble.

  10Lightning travels ahead of the thunder,

  and approval goes before one who is modest.

  11Leave in good time and do not be the last;

  go home quickly and do not linger.

  12Amuse yourself there to your heart’s content,

  but do not sin through proud speech.

  13But above all bless your Maker,

  who fills you with his good gifts.

  The Providence of God

  14The one who seeks Goda will accept his discipline,

  and those who rise early to seek himb will find favor.

  15The one who seeks the law will be filled with it,

  but the hypocrite will stumble at it.

  16Those who fear the Lord will form true judgments,

  and they will kindle righteous deeds like a light.

  17The sinner will shun reproof,

  and will find a decision according to his liking.

  18A sensible person will not overlook a thoughtful suggestion;

  an insolentc and proud person will not be deterred by fear.d

  19Do nothing without deliberation,

  but when you have acted, do not regret it.

  20Do not go on a path full of hazards,

  and do not stumble at an obstacle twice.e

  21Do not be overconfident on a smoothf road,

  22and give good heed to your paths.g

  23Guardh yourself in every act,

  for this is the keeping of the commandments.

  24The one who keeps the law preserves himself,i

  and the one who trusts the Lord will not suffer loss.

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  a Heb: Gk who fears the Lord

  b Other ancient authorities lack to seek him

  c Heb: Gk alien

  d Meaning of Gk uncertain. Other ancient authorities add and after acting, with him, without deliberation

  e Heb: Gk stumble on stony ground

  f Or an unexplored

  g Heb Syr: Gk and beware of your children

  h Heb Syr: Gk Trust

  i Heb: Gk who believes the law heeds the commandments

  32.1 Master of the feast, a position of honor with responsibility for such things as seating arrangements, courses, wines, and entertainment.

  32.3 It is your right. In ancient Near Eastern custom older persons were honored with the privilege of speaking first, a form of ranking. The advice was not for the elders, who would know this, but for youths being taught the rules of social etiquette and social advancement. Cf. 32.7–9.

  32.14–33.6 A loosely connected set of sayings on being deliberate in one’s judgments.

  32.14 Rise early to seek him, a reference to prayers at sunrise, a sign of piety. Cf. 39.5.

  32.16–17 To form true judgments was the goal of instruction in wisdom, meaning here instruction in Mosaic law (32.15; 33.3–4). The sinner, in contrast, will find a decision according to his liking (v. 17). On rendering judgments as a judge, apparently one of the sage’s social roles and a goal of Ben Sira’s instructions, see 38.31–33. Righteous deeds, t
he thoughts and words of those who seek the law and are filled with it (32.15).

  32.23 A curious identification of the wisdom of caution with ethical piety (obedience to the law), perhaps with an eye toward Deut 4.9. On the wisdom of caution, see 8.1–19.

  SIRACH 33

  1No evil will befall the one who fears the Lord,

  but in trials such a one will be rescued again and again.

  2The wise will not hate the law,

  but the one who is hypocritical about it is like a boat in a storm.

  3The sensible person will trust in the law;

  for such a one the law is as dependable as a divine oracle.

  4Prepare what to say, and then you will be listened to;

  draw upon your training, and give your answer.

  5The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel,

  and his thoughts like a turning axle.

  6A mocking friend is like a stallion

  that neighs no matter who the rider is.

  Differences in Nature and in Humankind

  7Why is one day more important than another,

  when all the daylight in the year is from the sun?

  8By the Lord’s wisdom they were distinguished,

  and he appointed the different seasons and festivals.

  9Some days he exalted and hallowed,

  and some he made ordinary days.

  10All human beings come from the ground,

  and humankinda was created out of the dust.

  11In the fullness of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them

  and appointed their different ways.

  12Some he blessed and exalted,

  and some he made holy and brought near to himself;

  but some he cursed and brought low,

  and turned them out of their place.

  13Like clay in the hand of the potter,

  to be molded as he pleases,

  so all are in the hand of their Maker,

  to be given whatever he decides.

  14Good is the opposite of evil,

  and life the opposite of death;

  so the sinner is the opposite of the godly.

  15Look at all the works of the Most High;

  they come in pairs, one the opposite of the other.

  16Now I was the last to keep vigil;

  I was like a gleaner following the grape-pickers;

  17by the blessing of the Lord I arrived first,

  and like a grape-picker I filled my wine press.

  18Consider that I have not labored for myself alone,

  but for all who seek instruction.

  19Hear me, you who are great among the people,

  and you leaders of the congregation, pay heed!

  The Advantage of Independence

  20To son or wife, to brother or friend,

  do not give power over yourself, as long as you live;

  and do not give your property to another,

  in case you change your mind and must ask for it.

  21While you are still alive and have breath in you,

  do not let anyone take your place.

  22For it is better that your children should ask from you

  than that you should look to the hand of your children.

  23Excel in all that you do;

  bring no stain upon your honor.

  24At the time when you end the days of your life,

  in the hour of death, distribute your inheritance.

  The Treatment of Slaves

  25Fodder and a stick and burdens for a donkey;

  bread and discipline and work for a slave.

  26Set your slave to work, and you will find rest;

  leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty.

  27Yoke and thong will bow the neck,

  and for a wicked slave there are racks and tortures.

  28Put him to work, in order that he may not be idle,

  29for idleness teaches much evil.

  30Set him to work, as is fitting for him,

  and if he does not obey, make his fetters heavy.

  Do not be overbearing toward anyone,

  and do nothing unjust.

  31If you have but one slave, treat him like yourself,

  because you have bought him with blood.

  If you have but one slave, treat him like a brother,

  for you will need him as you need your life.

  32If you ill-treat him, and he leaves you and runs away,

  33which way will you go to seek him?

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  a Heb: Gk Adam

  33.1 No evil will befall reflects Ben Sira’s Deuteronomic proclivities. On rescue as a theme, see 2.6–11; cf. Wis 10.1–21.

  33.2 Like a boat in a storm, without rudder or control, a very common metaphor in late antiquity.

  33.3 The law is as dependable as a divine oracle, unclear. Oracles were predictive. Perhaps the saying refers to the blessings promised in the Torah (Lev 26.3–13; Deut 28.1–14), or the promises attached to the covenants in the biblical epic (see 44.21), or simply to the Torah is as being as trustworthy in its own way as a divine oracle; see 34.6. The oracle used by the priests was the casting of dice called Urim and Thummim. See Ex 28.30; Lev 8.8; Num 27.21; Deut 33.8; 1 Sam 14.41–42; Ezra 2.63; Neh 7.65. On attitudes toward divination, see Sir 34.1–20.

  33.7–19 A striking list of ranked pairs in creation and history, including exalted and ordinary days (vv. 7–9); blessed and cursed human beings (vv. 10–13); good and evil, life and death, sinners and the godly, all the works of the Lord (vv. 14–15); and early and late arrivals in the “vineyard” of the scribal office (vv. 16–19). The logic behind this reflects both wisdom categories and Greek conceptuality with its penchant for classification into categories of opposition. These verses anticipate 42.24, where Ben Sira articulates his doctrine that creation is ordered by pairs of opposites.

  33.7–9 Exalted and ordinary days, the Jewish calendar of weeks, months, and festivals based on the lunar year. See 43.6–8; cf. 39.12; 50.6; Gen 1.14; Ps 104.19.

  33.12 Some he blessed, probably the blessing promised to Abraham (Gen 12.2–3; 15.5; 22.17; 24.60; 28.14; Ex 32.13; Deut 1.10); cf. Sir 44.20–23. Some he made holy and brought near to himself, probably the priests of Israel whose privilege was to approach the Lord. Cf. Num 16.5; Ezek 40.46. Second Temple society was organized largely by orientation to priestly families and their genealogies. Some he cursed…out of their place, possibly the Canaanites. Cf. 16.9; Gen 9.25–27; 12.6–7; Ex 33.1–3; Deut 34.1–4.

  33.13 Clay in the hand of the potter, a common metaphor for the divine determination of human destinies. Cf. Isa 29.16; 45.8; 64.8; Jer 18.4; Wis 15.7–8; Rom 9.21. The word potter, meaning “one who forms,” is from the same Hebrew root as the word yetser. See note on 15.14.

  33.14–15 The works of the Lord was a common idiom for creation, with particular reference to the sun, moon, and astrophysical and geophysical phenomena. See 42.15–43.33. That they come in pairs is a novel notion. See 42.24–25. The concept of pairs is probably taken from the ethical dualism of wise/foolish, righteous/sinner, good/bad, life/death, which has been transferred to “all the works” in the interest of a theodicy of divine power and judgment. See note on 33.7–19; also 34.14–20; 39.16–31; 40.8–10; cf. Wis 16.24–26; 17.20–21; 18.24–25; 19.6–22.

  33.16 Ben Sira refers to himself by using the first person, a practice common in Greek literary traditions. On authorial self-reference in Sirach, cf. 24.30–34; 34.12–13; 39.12–15, 32–35; 41.16; 43.32; 50.25–29; 51.1–30. To be the last to keep vigil means to stand at the end of a line of teachers; vigil may imply an association with the prophets, who “watched out” for the well-being of the people. Cf. Ezek 3.17; 33.7; Hab 2.1.

  33.17 I arrived first implies privilege or honor. Cf. “The last will be first” (Mt 19.30). Filled my wine press, a metaphor for wisdom. Cf. 1.15; 24.17–21; 39.6; 51.15.

  33.18 Repeated in 24.34.

  33.20–2
4 A small unit offers advice on controlling one’s own property.

  33.25–33 Advice on controlling one’s slaves. For OT laws on slavery, see Ex 21.2–6, 20–21, 26–27; Lev 25.46; Deut 15.12–18.

  33.31 Bought him with blood, an exaggeration based on the idea that “life” is one’s “livelihood.” Cf. 29.15; 34.27.

  SIRACH 34

  Dreams Mean Nothing

  1The senseless have vain and false hopes,

  and dreams give wings to fools.

  2As one who catches at a shadow and pursues the wind,

  so is anyone who believes ina dreams.

  3What is seen in dreams is but a reflection,

  the likeness of a face looking at itself.

  4From an unclean thing what can be clean?

  And from something false what can be true?

  5Divinations and omens and dreams are unreal,

  and like a woman in labor, the mind has fantasies.

  6Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High,

  pay no attention to them.

  7For dreams have deceived many,

  and those who put their hope in them have perished.

  8Without such deceptions the law will be fulfilled,

  and wisdom is complete in the mouth of the faithful.

  Experience as a Teacher

  9An educatedb person knows many things,

  and one with much experience knows what he is talking about.

  10An inexperienced person knows few things,

  11but he that has traveled acquires much cleverness.

  12I have seen many things in my travels,

  and I understand more than I can express.

  13I have often been in danger of death,

  but have escaped because of these experiences.

  Fear the Lord

  14The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,